Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans, or 55 percent of the people 50 years of age and older. In the United States, 10 million individuals are estimated to already have the disease and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is often called a “silent disease” because bone loss occurs without symptoms. Indeed, people may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump or fall causes a fracture or a vertebra to collapse.
Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an increased susceptibility to fractures, especially of the hip, spine and wrist, although any bone can be affected. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These broken bones, also known as fractures, occur typically in the hip, spine, and wrist. It is estimated that Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually, including:over 300,000 hip fractures; and approximately 700,000 vertebral fractures; 250,000 wrist fractures; and 300,000 fractures at other sites.
While osteoporosis is often thought of as an older person's disease, it can strike at any age. One in two women and one in four men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her/his remaining lifetime. Any bone can be affected, but of special concern are fractures of the hip and spine. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery. It can impair a person's ability to walk unassisted and may cause prolonged or permanent disability or even death. Spinal or vertebral fractures also have serious consequences, including loss of height, severe back pain, and deformity.
Depending upon the condition of the patient, new bone ingrowth is accomplished by one or more mechanisms such as osteogenesis, osteoconduction and osteoinduction. It can be appreciated that the needs of a child are different from an aging patient afflicted with osteoporosis. Accordingly, there is no “one size fits all” approach towards optimizing the healing conditions in a patient.
Current treatments of osteoporotic disease, such as a vertebral body known as a vertebroplasty, utilize cements that set-up in vivo after injection, however, these treatments have attendant risks. These cements have the potential to extrude into the spinal canal causing neural compression or to be forced into the venous blood network leading to emboli.
In addition, the following medications are approved by the FDA for postmenopausal women to prevent and/or treat osteoporosis:
Bisphosphonates:                Alendronate and alendronate plus vitamin D (brand name Fosamax® and Fosamax® plus D). Alendronate is approved as a treatment for osteoporosis in men and is approved for treatment of glucocorticoid (steroid)-induced osteoporosis in men and women.        Ibandronate (brand name Boniva®).        Risedronate and risedronate with calcium (brand name Actonel® and Actonel® with Calcium). Risedronate is approved for prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in men and women.        Calcitonin (brand name Miacalcin®).        
Estrogen/Hormone Therapy:                Estrogens (brand names, such as Climara®, Estrace®, Estraderm®, Estratab®, Ogen®, Ortho-Est®, Premarin®, Vivelle® and others).        Estrogens and Progestins (brand names, such as Activella™, FemHrt®, Premphase®, Prempro® and others).        Parathyroid Hormone—Teriparatide (PTH (1-34) (brand name Fortéo®). Parathyroid hormone is approved for the treatment of osteoporosis in men who are at high risk of fracture.        
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs):                Raloxifene (brand name Evista®).        
Treatments under investigation include sodium fluoride, vitamin D metabolites, and other bisphosphonates and selective estrogen receptor modulators. These therapies, however, only result in approximately a 0-3% increase in bone mineral density (BMD) per year. On the other hand, local delivery of a growth factor via depot implant results in a 10-50% BMD increase within a few months.
Despite the advances recently made in the art, there is an immediate need for improved medical devices, methods and systems for treating osteporotic bone.